Chapter 2

2.

I stared at Sutton's photo for a long time.

This post was different from her usual ones.

Elias wasn't in the frame, but his love for her was everywhere.

I remembered the day our daughter was born.

Elias arrived with flowers and a jewelry box, tears in his eyes as I left the OR.

"Cora, you did so well," he told me.

"I designed this jewelry just for you."

He looked so devoted that the nurses cried.

It turns out, love can be faked perfectly.

I'm usually a calm person.

I don't like drama.

If I weren't so stable, we would have had a thousand fights by now.

But right now, I was at my breaking point.

I checked the location tag on Sutton's post.

It was an elite club by the river, the kind of place where a single night costs more than most people's rent.

Elias and I had been married for eight years, and he'd never taken me there.

The hostess at the door looked at me and my baby and blocked the way.

I waited outside for nearly an hour.

Finally, I saw Elias carrying Sutton out in his arms, bridal style.

His friends were laughing and teasing him.

"Elias, you're a lucky man tonight. Enjoy your time with a beauty like Sutton."

"Just make sure you use protection, man."

Elias was beaming.

He kissed Sutton on the forehead.

"I'm not afraid of her getting pregnant," he said.

"I'll take responsibility for her."

Sutton blushed and hid her face in his chest.

Those words shattered my world.

If he was responsible for her, what were we?

Rage boiled over, and I marched toward them.